A woman in London was run over by a moped for ignoring a man's catcall
Those who believe catcalls are really just compliments might have a hard time making sense of what happened when a 19-year-old woman living in London ignored one man's comment.
According to BuzzFeed, a man on a moped yelled, "Are you alright, darling?" at Pagan-Lilley Motlagh-Phillips, as she was walking home with her brother from a shopping center. When she didn't respond, the man pulled up to her and "aggressively" demanded an answer. After Motlagh-Phillips again refused, the man threatened to retaliate. And he did — by running Motlagh-Phillips over.
"This man took a moped and ran me over because I didn't entertain his advances," she told BuzzFeed. "I didn't swear, I wasn't abusive, but he ran me over in broad daylight."
Motlagh-Phillips said she lost consciousness and later woke up in the hospital, where she was diagnosed with internal bruising and had to leave on crutches.
Though the incident happened back in June, Motlagh-Phillips shared her experience a couple weeks ago on Twitter, expressing her frustration with the way authorities handled her case.
The London Metropolitan Police told BuzzFeed they arrested a man in June for the alleged attack — a man who Motlagh-Phillips said she identified to authorities — but took no further action.
On Twitter, Motlagh-Phillips alleged that police released him after just two hours and told her he had no prior arrests and that they found no evidence that he had run her over. When Motlagh-Phillips asked if he had an alibi, she said the police told her, "No. He doesn't remember where he was."
After filing a complaint to the department regarding an officer's handling of the investigation, Motlagh-Phillips said she received a response from his superior telling Motlagh-Phillips that the officer on her case "has to prioritize" his caseload.
A Met spokesperson told BuzzFeed the department gave the case the necessary attention: "There has been a full investigation into the incident, which included a public appeal for witnesses and information via media release and the Met's social media and online channels."
What happened to Motlagh-Phillips is part of a larger pattern of men who have retaliated against women who've refused men's advances. In February, Mic reported on 14 incidents in which women have been attacked or killed by men they've rejected.
Motlagh-Phillips said she hopes sharing her story can help women who've experienced the same kind of gendered violence.
"It's taken me four months to even want to tweet or talk openly about it," she told BuzzFeed. "I hope this helps with my case or helps someone going through a similar situation."